SONGS OF WINTER | pjm

01 | JAZZ

THE SOFT MORNING sunlight streamed into jimin's eyes, making him squeeze them shut. but only for a moment. they snapped open as soon as he remembered that he was being dragged along at an uncomfortable speed through the busy street by one of his best friends, kim seokjin.

when he almost bumped into a stranger, jimin held on tight to his little sketchbook, scared it might fall out of his hand in the hurry. "where are we going, anyways?" he turned to his older friend after shooting a quick apology to the woman he had almost hit.

it hadn't snowed in a few days, and the layer of icy white that had coated the streets on the first two days of the month had almost entirely melted. the christmas decorations had certainly doubled, splashing the streets in bright holiday colours. the shopping district had become busier since jimin last visited, people miling in and out of shops, most likely getting their holiday shopping done.

seokjin spared him a glance, before looking ahead once again. "there's a pastry shop that serves the best desserts and pastries." he answered, easily dodging a couple of overexcited teenage boys goofing off in the middle of the street.

"okay, but why the hell are we running to this place?" jimin twisted his body to avoid his jeans being smeared with the huge lollipop a little girl held carelessly. he sent her a kind smile when she glanced up at him curiously. she returned the gesture with a gap-toothed grin, making his widen.

"i told you. they serve the best desserts in town." the older man replied breathily. "so?" the artist raised a questioning brow. "so there's usually like a mile long line hoping to get some pastry or the other. they're always busy and sell out pretty quickly."

jimin stumbled over himself as seokjin slowed to a stop. "what i don't get is why you had to drag me with—" he faltered when his eyes took in the shop in front of them. the pretty pink colour that framed the clear glass looked incredibly familiar. gaze moving up, he mouthed the name of the pastry shop. "sweethearts."

"oh good, we're early." seokjin sighed in relief, letting go of jimin's smaller hand. "let's go in." he started to push the door open only to pause. "what?" jimin asked when he stared off to the side. "i think i found her." seokjin smiled. "who?" jimin's brows drew together in question. "the one."

confused, jimin looked in the direction seokjin was staring only to find a locked down shop. "huh," he mumbled to himself. "let's hurry." seokjin turned away and pushed the door open. a soft chime announced their presence. "you want to buy that shop?" jimin followed him into the pastry shop.

he stopped just inside. soft holiday jazz welcomed them into sweethearts, instantly creating an atmosphere that urged jimin to relax. the interior décor was a minimalist white with little touches of pastel pink. a heavenly blend of warm sweet and savoury pastries tickled his nostrils. it was a divine combination one could only find at a place like this.

"i'll check it out later to make sure it's all good but yeah." seokjin's voice snapped him out of the spell he was under. jimin hurried to meet him at the short line at the counter. "really?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair. "i mean it's in a prime location. it's at the centre of the shopping district, not far from home and close to the pastry shop. it may seem a little rundown, but it looks like it might fit the specifications i'm looking for."

"i hope it does. because i can't wait to get my hands on the walls of your flower shop." he waved his fingers excitedly. seokjin laughed, shaking his head as they moved forward. "i just realised your hair matches the aesthetic of this place."

jimin's fingers brushed over his pink locks, eyes bouncing around. "oh, it does." his lips curved in a small smile as they reached the front.

"good morning. what would you like to order?" the sound of a throaty voice made jimin's head snap up. his feet rooted to the spot when his gaze fell on the girl at the counter. his heartbeat echoed in his ears, the corners of his mouth turning up slowly. he could have sworn he could hear a chorus of angels singing in his head.

it was her. the gorgeous girl with the happy-go-lucky dog from the park.

"i'd like a box of a dozen vanilla almond madeleines and opera cake each, please." seokjin smiled at her sweetly. "jimin, what would you like? it's on me." he turned to look at the man who seemed to be entranced. "jiminie?" he snapped his fingers in jimin's face.

"hm?" he snapped out of his daze, realising both seokjin and the girl were staring at him. "uh," he rubbed his nose with his index finger, feeling embarrassed. he forced his eyes to move to the display case, lips pushing forward in a pout as he tried to make a choice. "pistachio macarons and um, the berries and cream mille-feuille?" he looked to her for approval.

her eyes narrowed for a moment before she nodded. "okay. i'll have your order packed and ready to go." she said, looking down at the note in her hand before informing them of the price.

"oh, winter!" a girl called, rolling the sleeves of her work t-shirt to reveal more of her tan skin as she hurriedly stepped up next to the girl jimin could not take his eyes off of. "i'm so sorry i'm late!" she apologised breathlessly, pulling her dyed green hair up in a ponytail. "it's okay, fran. i was just taking their orders."

winter, jimin mused. was that her name? if it was, he thought it quite fitting. there was a cool, aloof aura to her that he found intriguing.

"you can go back into the kitchen. i'll finish up here." the green haired girl fixed a name tag that read francine on her pink t-shirt. "good morning, sorry for the inconvenience. i'll be completing your order." she smiled at them. seokjin shook his head in assurance. jimin's eyes followed winter as she disappeared through a door at the back.

seokjin nudged him lightly with his elbow. "stop ogling like an idiot." he whispered sharply. "did you say her name was winter?" jimin finally spared francine a real look. she glanced back and then at him, a brow raised in question. "yes, but forget about it." she answered as she read the note winter had made.

"why?" he watched her pack up their order carefully. in the corner of his eyes, he could see seokjin shaking his head in exasperation.

"winter doesn't date." she gently placed the pretty shell shaped pastries in a pastel pink box. "never has. probably never will." she paused to glance at him. "you're cute but that won't get you anywhere with her." she began to box the opera cakes. "i know rome wasn't built in a day. and neither is romance." jimin smiled almost flirtatiously. francine's eyes narrowed at him before she shook her head.

"i'm so tempted to throw you away right now." seokjin mumbled. "i learnt that from you." jimin replied defensively. francine chuckled softly, lining up the boxes of pastries. "your order's ready." she said, straightening. "thank you." seokjin opened his wallet, paying for the pastries.

"i'll be seeing you around, francine." jimin grinned cheekily. "mhm," she nodded, giving him a knowing look. "say hi to nala for me." he added before turning around, enjoying the flash of surprise on francine's face.

he had a feeling that sweethearts was about to be his favourite place in town.